Walker the Widower
by 59katie
Summary: Trivette returns to town after Alex's shooting and helps Walker search for the shooter. This is my version of what happened after the reunion movie ended.


Walker the Widower

by

59 Katie

Chapter One

How does one deal with this Walker wondered to himself as he looked at his wife who was laying bleeding on the lobby floor of the courthouse after having been shot for the third time. They had been through so much recently, first his promotion to Captain which he had taken so that she would worry less. Then both of their offices being moved and finally the front of their ranch house having been torched by a drunken teenager who had mistaken it for his former girlfriend's house. This had forced them to temporarily move into a house in the city. Before that Alex had briefly lost her memory of the last fourteen years. They had just gotten over that when the changes had taken place. Walker had just left his wife in the lobby after Alex told him that she had a meeting with D.A. Moody and couldn't ride home with him like they had planned. That she had wanted nothing more than being able to spend more time with her family. Walker had heard the gunfire and hurried back into the lobby only to see Alex fall lifelessly to the floor. It reminded him so much of the time when she had been shot by Storm and had barely survived it. At first he couldn't find a pulse but then Alex gasped and said while moaning in pain " At least it doesn't hurt as bad as the time I was shot by Storm."

" Don't talk Alex. Save your strength. The paramedics are on their way." Walker said as he held her hand. " Angela and Ray you have to get them from the Hope Center." Alex said to her husband who answered " I will lady, just as soon as I know that you're all right."

Alex then passed out from the pain. Just then the paramedics arrived and after quickly assessing Alex rushed her to the hospital. A nurse had Walker fill out the paperwork while Alex was rushed into surgery. Once the surgery was over with the doctor came out and told Walker " Mr. Walker your wife was a very lucky woman. Another inch over and the outcome would have been much different. It would have destroyed her heart. They used a 'cop-killer' bullet. It fragmented on impact but we were able to remove all of the pieces. The bullet was too fragmented to tell what kind of gun it came from. Your wife should be coming around shortly. I'll take you to her room now."

As Walker followed the doctor he told him " I don't want any information about my wife to be released to anyone. No one is to be told my wife's condition without my express permission. Not even co-workers or friends. Her life could depend on it." The doctor agreed and Walker went into Alex's room. Walker pulled up a chair and sat down by Alex's bedside. As soon as she woke up Alex asked him " Where are the children?"

" Gage is bringing them here as we speak. Alex that was a 'cop-killer' bullet that you were shot with. Just rest I'll explain everything later." Walker said to his wife who nodded okay and laid back on the pillow. When the nurse came in to give Alex a shot Walker went out into the hallway. Spotting Gage there he took his children from him while Gage said " Captain Walker the preliminary report seems to indicate that there was a second shooter who took advantage of the confusion to shoot A.D.A. Cahill-Walker. How is she doing?"

Grimly Walker answered " I'm becoming a widower." Gage stood there stunned until Walker added " They used a 'cop-killer' bullet, it fragmented on impact. They've removed the pieces but it was way too close to her heart. Alex will be okay but I don't want anyone to know that just yet. Not until I know who shot my wife and why. Ranger Gage you are to tell no one this and I mean no one. Not even Ranger Cooke or Trivette. You got that?"

" Yes I do Captain Walker." Gage answered Walker who then took the children into see their mother. While Gage was standing there a reporter asked him " How is A.D.A. Cahill-Walker doing?"

Remembering what Walker had just told him Gage answered " Not good, we don't know if she will be able to recover from this. Captain Walker just took their children in to see their mother just in case."

As he was taking his children into their mother's room Walker told them " Mommy has a boo-boo." Angela said to her father " Just kiss it and make it all better like Mommy does for me and baby Ray."

" Honey daddy can't make this boo-boo all better." Walker answered his daughter so Angela kissed her mother on the cheek and said " There Daddy I kissed the boo-boo bye- bye. Smiling at his daughter Walker said " Yes you did honey but Mommy still has to go away for awhile."

Alex questioned him " Walker what are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon."

" Alex that bullet just made me a widower." Walker replied stunning his wife who then said to her husband " Okay. Maybe you should take the children back out to Gage while we discuss this."

" There is no discussing this. You are going away for awhile and that's final. So don't waste your breath arguing with me." Walker informed Alex. Starting to cry Angela sobbed " Mommy tell Daddy to stop being mean. Tell him that you don't want to go bye-bye." After looking at her daughter and then at her husband's grim face Alex said to her daughter " Sweetheart Mommy has to go away for awhile. But I promise you that you will see Mommy again. You and little Ray. Angela you will always be in my heart and my thoughts; both you and your brother. Now be a good girl and go see Uncle Gage while Daddy and I talk."

Walker took the children back out to Gage. The reporter who was still there asked Walker " How's A. D. A. Cahill-Walker? Is it true that she isn't going to recover from being shot?" Angela cried " My Mommy is going away. I don't want my mommy to leave."

The reporter then asked her " Angela is it true that your mommy is dying?" Walker grabbed the reporter by the throat and said to him " Leave my family alone." Security quickly removed him and after getting Gage's assurance that he would keep an eye on the children Walker re-entered his wife's room.

" Walker what happens now?" Alex asked him. " Like I just told you I become a widower. After you 'die' we'll find a safe place for you until I catch the shooter." Walkeranswered his wife who sighed and said to him " Honey I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

" No Alex you weren't. There was a second shooter who took advantage of the confusion to shoot you." Walker said.

" Oh God. Walker we can't keep living like this, we have children to consider." Alex said to Walker who replied as he caressed her face " I know that lady. That's why I want everyone to think that you are dead so that the shooter doesn't try again and either shoots you or one of the children "

" Okay I die. But who will fend off the women now that you're a handsome widower with two adorable children?" Alex teased him.

" I think that I might like the attention." Walker teased her back and she said " Enjoy it too much mister and you'll find yourself in a very cold bedroom when I return."

" Yeah right Alex. You can't keep your hands off of me just like I can't keep my hands off of you." Walker answered and then turning serious he added " Thank you for going along with me on this Alex. I know how much you'll miss the children."

" As much as I'll miss you cowboy. So when do I die? And where will I be while you're hunting the shooter?" Alex questioned her husband.

" You'll die in three days and you'll be at the reservation until I catch the bastard who shot you." Walker answered his wife.

Chapter Two

Three days later Alex's death was announced, due to a heart attack from the damage the bullet had done to her chest cavity and the surrounding area. In those three days Walker did a lot of planning; starting with only allowing Alex's doctor and a single nurse sworn to secrecy into Alex's room. They had both agreed to Walker's plan. Although the doctor was insistent on Alex receiving therapy for the damage done to the muscles on the left side of her chest near her shoulder. Walker with the doctor's help planned a series of exercises that Alex could do on her own. All friends and coworkers were kept away. Alex's father was in the hospital with a minor heart attack and his new wife said that until she was sure that he would be okay she didn't want Gordon informed about Alex, his daughter. Walker's biggest problem was how to overcome the madatory autopsy. Alex gave him the answer, as a member of a Native-American tribe it was within his rights to refuse one. Walker's co-workers and friends thought that he wasn't thinking right because of his grief and tried to talk him into letting an autopsy be performed on Alex. Walker refused to talk about it with anyone. The D.A.'s office had announced that they were going to investigate Walker's right to refuse an autopsy on Alex.

Trivette who had flown back from his new job in Washington D.C. confronted Walker as he was loading the body bag containing Alex into his truck " Listen Walker you have to let them perform the autopsy to find out the cause of death. You have to rethink this before you go down the wrong path. You need to let it happen so that when the killer is caught he can be brought to justice and for that they are going to need an official cause of death. I know that you're hurting man but you have to let the autopsy happen for everyone's sake including your's and your children's."

" I know the cause of death. Some bastard shot and killed my wife. Now leave me alone so that I can take her to the reservation to say goodbye in peace." Walker said to Trivette who pleaded with him " What about me Walker? You know that I felt like Alex was my sister. Do I get to say goodbye to her? I'm begging you. Please let me say goodbye to Alex."

" Fine just help me put her in the backseat, will you?" Walker told Trivette and after Alex's body bag was placed in the backseat they got in and Walker drove to the half-burned out ranch house. Stopping the truck Walker reached into the back seat and after undoing the body bag he leaned over the seat and kissed Alex on the cheek. Walker then said to his wife " You okay lady? Come on sleepyhead, wake up now." A horrified Trivette tried again to talk sense into his friend " Walker man, she's dead. Please let me take you back to Dallas so that Alex can be buried properly." No sooner had Trivette stopped talking when Alex said to him " Hi Trivette. How are you and Erica doing in Washington D.C.? "

A stunned Trivette answered her " Oh thank God you're alive Alex. Now would someone please explain to me what's going on?"

Walker said " You explain Alex while I drive to the reservation. Keep your head down so that no one can see you. Okay?" Alex explained everything to Trivette who said that not only would he go along with Walker's plan but that he wanted to help investigate Alex's shooting. All they had to go on was a fuzzy image from a security camera. They couldn't even tell if the shooter had been a small man or a woman.

Walker and Trivette returned to Dallas and they stopped at Gage's and Sydney's place to pick up the children. As they were leaving Gage said " Captain Walker, D. A. Moody is holding a news conference at six o'clock to address the issue of getting an autopsy on Mrs. Walker."

" Sydney and Gage thank you for watching my children. As for the news conference, I guess that I'd better watch it." Walker said to them and then left. As they were driving to Walker's house he asked Trivette " Do you have time to come to my house? I want to watch the news conference." Trivette answered him " I can stay as long as you need me to. I was given a leave of absence from my new job at Quantico."

So at six o'clock they watched the news conference where D.A. Moody started off by saying that there were no new leads in the fatal shooting of A.D.A. Cahill-Walker. That they were looking into all of Walker's and Cahill-Walker's past cases. D.A. Moody also said that he was studying whether or not he could get a court ordered autopsy but that he was hoping that Captain Walker would allow one without a court order. D.A. Moody also pointed out that he didn't need an autopsy to get a murder conviction. That he just needed to prove that there had been a murder committed. That 'habeas corpus' meant the body of the crime not the actual body itself. Although it would make a conviction a lot easier. D.A. Moody then stunned Walker by saying " I have trouble with the fact that on the day A.D.A. Cahill-Walker was shot she was only still at the courthouse because I demanded a meeting with her to discuss her resignation from the D.A.'s office. If it hadn't been for that meeting A.D.A. Cahill-Walker would have already have left the courthouse and not been shot. Mrs. Walker said that she was resigning because she wanted to spend more time with her family. That she hadn't told them about it yet but would as soon as she got home that day. That was when I demanded that she meet with me in the hopes of talking her out of resignation before A.D.A. Cahill-Walker told her family about it. Mrs. Walker said that she was planning on going home with her husband that day but agreed to stay and meet with me. That is part of the reason I am giving Captain Walker of the Texas Rangers more time to reconsider the autopsy request because if it wasn't for me his wife would still be alive. Good day." Moody ended the news conference and Trivette asked his friend " Walker did you know about her resignation?"

" Alex said something about resigning from the D.A.'s office while she was in the hospital but I thought that was in response to her having been shot for the third time. Damn it Trivette why does she have to suffer because of me?" Walker questioned Trivette who answered " Walker, Alex has made plenty of enemies on her own, some of whom you've saved her from. After all she's a leading prosecutor and has put a lot of people in prison. Then there was LaRue who Alex ran into when she was at the wrong place at the wrong time and it took three tries until you got rid of that nut. Don't beat yourself up over this. Walker you have a job to do, find the animal who shot your wife. There are plenty of people who want to help you including me, let them."

Wearily Walker nodded okay and then went and cooked dinner for his children.

Chapter Three

They had finally gotten a break in the case a cab driver by the name of Dale Long came forward to report that he had driven a lady to the courthouse on the day Alex had been shot. He told them that this woman had him wait outside the courthouse with his meter running for a half an hour. Dale Long told the Rangers interviewing him that the woman seemed nervous about something and was wearing a coat which he had thought was odd because it had been a warm day. The woman had also made several remarks about Alex Cahill. Dale said that when he told the woman that Cahill-Walker was involved with a big trial at the courthouse with lots of media attention, she answered that she knew that and it was the reason that she was there. The female passenger said that by the time the day was over everyone would be talking about what had happened that day. She also kept putting her hand into her coat pocket as though she was making sure that something was in it. The other Rangers who had been at the courthouse during the shooting had reported seeing a women with a coat on there but had lost track of her when the shooting started. That after the shooting ended the woman got back in his cab and he drove her to a mall where she got out. Dale Long was appalled when he realized that he may have driven the shooter to the courthouse that day. Long freely admitted to having been prosecuted by Alex in the past. She had let him plea to a lesser charge and after talking with him had gone so far as to put a word in for him with the cab company resulting in him being able to turn his life around. After putting all of the witnesses statements together they concluded that the female passenger in the cab was in fact Alex's shooter. As they were wrapping up a meeting in the case D.A. Moody entered Walker's office to speak with him. " Captain Walker can we please talk about the autopsy? I don't want to get a court order for one but I will if I must. Time is running out."

" D.A. Moody you can have your autopsy on two conditions." Walker answered Moody who said to him " Just name them."

" One I want a copy of my wife's resignation from your office and two the autopsy will take place only after we have the shooter in custody." Walker said to Moody.

Handing Walker the letter D.A. Moody said " The letter of resignation is no problem, here it is. As for the autopsy I would prefer it to be before an arrest is made."

Putting the letter into his shirt pocket Walker answered Moody " You don't need an autopsy to make an arrest. Just hold them on the shooting charge and then you can have your damn autopsy." Realizing that was the best that he could do for now Moody agreed and then left Walker's office.

The computer expert worked for several days to clear up the blurry image from the security camera. When the image was finally cleared up it revealed that the shooter was a dark-haired woman with dark brown, almost black eyes. Dale Long, the cab driver had done a composite sketch and it was a close match for the cleared up image. Holding the picture and looking at it Trivette said " She looks so familiar, like I should know who she is." Taking the picture from him Walker looked at it and then said " Yeah she does look familiar and that I should know who she is but I just can't place her." Throwing the picture down in disgust Walker added " This animal kills my wife. I know that I've seen her before but I can't place her. That makes me a real good Ranger. Doesn't it?"

Picking the picture back up Trivette said " Rangers Cooke and Gage get this out to law enforcement agencies and the media." They took the picture and left. Trivette turned to Walker and suggested " Why don't you go get your children and take them for a ride or something?"

Walker snapped at him " I have to find my wife's killer. Aaren't you forgetting that?"

" Walker you have worked non-stop on this and rightfully so but you aren't as clear-headed as you need to be right now. Take a drive or something to clear your head and then you'll be more focused on catching her. We'll work up some images of her with different hair styles and other things." Picking his hat up Walker clapped Trivette on the shoulder and said to him " I think that I'll get the children from Hope Center and drive out to the ranch and check on our horses. See you later Trivette."

As Walker was buckling Ray into his car seat Angela yelled " Look Daddy bad lady is pointing a gun at you." Walker quickly shoved Angela down as the woman fired at them. Walker returned fire but she was able to get away. A shaken Walker took Angela and Ray back into the Hope Center and called a report in. Trivette was the first to arrive. Hurrying in he picked Angela up and asked her " How's my little God daughter?"

Angela cried and said to him " Bad lady shot at my daddy like she shot my mommy. Uncle Jimmy me scared."

Walker entered the room to overhear Trivette's answer " Listen honey your Daddy and I will catch that bad lady. I promise. Now how about you go with your Aunt Josie while your Daddy and I make plans to do that?" After Angela left the room Trivette asked Walker " Are you okay?"

Still a little shaken he answered " Yes. Thank god Angela spotted her before she got a good shot off. It gave me enough time to shove her down and return fire."

" We need to come up with a plan to flush this person out. We made up various sketches of what she would look like with different hair styles. I have them with me." Trivette said and then started looking through them when he stopped and said " Why didn't I think to check that nut job's background too?" Taking a sketch from Trivette's hands Walker said " LaRue."

Chapter Four

The next day they were in Walker's office at Ranger headquarters with all of the Rangers who were on the task force for the shooting of A.D.A. Cahill-Walker. Trivette who was in charge of the meeting said " Okay everyone we are looking for a relative of Victor LaRue." Sydney asked " Who is Victor LaRue?"

" Victor LaRue was a man who tried on three separate occasions to hurt my wife." Walker answered her.

" Victor LaRue was a kidnapper who was in the habit of kidnapping wealthy people for ransom when a then Alex Cahill ran into him while she was going to a job interview and he was kidnapping his latest victim. LaRue usually killed his kidnap victims after the ransoms were paid. Walker and I rescued Alex Cahill and the others who were taken that day and arrested LaRue. He was released on a technicality and went after Alex Cahill, he had become obsessed with her. This led to Ranger Walker being staked out and stung by scorpions. Walker again stopped LaRue. The third time LaRue took over a courtroom killing several people before Walker kicked down the door and killed LaRue in a shootout. All the details are in this report. I want each and everyone of you to read it carefully." Trivette said as the reports were handed out then he added showing a picture to them " This is who we are looking for Victoria LaRue, Victor's twin sister. All of you are to study her face just as carefully. If she is anything like her brother she will not stop until either Captain Walker or herself is dead. Her brother was very cunning and I expect her to be just as cunning. I want all of you back here after lunch with ideas on how to capture her." The meeting then broke up and Walker turned to Trivette and asked him " After all of these years why now?"

Reading the report Trivette answered " Victoria LaRue was in a mental hospital for a number of years because of her unhealthy relationship with her twin brother Victor. Her doctors believed that it may have been incestuous in nature and that it started when their father began to lock them in the same bedroom at night when they were thirteen. After Victor joined the army she had a nervous breakdown and the twisted relationship came to light. Victoria was obsessed with Victor and when he died she vowed to kill you and Alex. The doctors were able to keep her in the mental hospital longer than they should have been able to because they were aware of her threats against you and Alex but they were forced to release her a week before Alex was shot. They had lost track of her two days after she was released. She appears to be just as twisted as her twin brother was if not more so. Don't worry we will get her one way or the other."

" Dead sounds good to me." Walker answered. Changing the subject Trivette asked him " Where are your children?"

" Downstairs in the Ranger daycare. They should be safe there. Damn it Trivette they shouldn't have to go through this." Walker said.

" Just hang in there Walker we'll get her in no time at all and you can put your family back together." Trivette tried to assure his friend.

After lunch the task force had reassembled in Walker's office and they were bouncing ideas around on how to get Victoria LaRue when Walker said " I'll be the bait."

Sydney Cooke objected " Walker you can't place yourself in danger like that. Your children just lost their mother." Glaring at her Walker snapped " Ranger Cooke do you have any better ideas? If so I'd like to hear them." Seeing the fire in Walker's eyes Sydney meekly said " No."

Trivette took over " Walker you have to think about Angela and Ray, they can't lose you too." Looking at him Walker replied " Trivette I am thinking about them. We have to settle this for once and for all. They can't live with the threat of a madwoman hanging over their heads. We need to get her now. Not three times from now."

" I agree that we need to get her now not later. We just need to make sure that Angela and Ray don't lose both of their parents and become orphans. They just lost their mother, they need you alive. Walker you need to be very careful until we catch her and we will, after all we are Texas Rangers. Hopefully your Cherokee or whatever it is that you have will kick in soon." Trivette said to him.

" Okay. Rangers Cooke and Gage you will be keeping an eye on Angela and Ray Walker until this is over. The rest of you will be hitting the streets and getting the word out on Victoria LaRue. Hopefully with the large reward being offered by the D.A.'s office and other agencies someone will come forward. Gage and Cooke come with me to the Ranger daycare to get the children." Walker said and they left and went to the Ranger daycare where Walker looked around for his children. Not spotting Angela and Ray there he asked the lady in charge " Where are my children?"

She answered " Captain Walker that lady Ranger just got them. You know the new one with short brown hair. She said that you wanted her to take them to you. I'm surprised that you didn't see them in the hallway, they just left." The three of them flew out of the room and ran down the steps to the lobby where they saw Victoria LaRue carrying Ray while dragging along Angela by the arm who was crying and trying to kick her. Just then Angela began yelling " Let me go bad lady. You shot my mommy and tried to shoot my daddy. Help she's bad lady." A security guard hearing Angela's yelling approached them and said as he pulled his weapon " Hold it right there lady." Releasing Angela Victoria pulled her own gun and placed it to Ray's head while demanding " Where's Walker? I want him here when I kill his son. Then I'll kill him so that daughter of his will know what it's like to be all alone in this world like me."

Walker neared her while trying to spot an opening to take her out but with the gun so close to Ray's head he couldn't spot one. Gage and Sydney cleared out the lobby and Gage said to LaRue " Just take it easy ma'am and no one will get hurt."

Laughing Victoria answered " Someone is going to get hurt all right. The Walker males are going to join Cahill in hell where they all belong." Noticing that Sydney had taken Angela and placed her behind herself LaRue said to Sydney " Take that sniveling little brat and leave. This is between Walker, his son and me. " When they didn't move Walker ordered them " Rangers Cooke and Gage take Angela Walker and leave this lobby now." They did as they were told leaving Walker alone with Victoria who was still holding a gun on his son. She started to shift Ray to the other arm when her hand got near his mouth and he bit her. Startled she started to drop him as a shot rang out. Walker hurriedly grabbed Ray while LaRue raised her gun to shoot them a second shot rang out and she fell to the floor.

Calmly putting his gun back in it's holster and nearing them Trivette asked " Walker are you and Ray okay?"

Looking a little unnerved he answered " Yes he's fine. Thanks Trivette."

" You ought to thank Ray for biting her. That gave me the opening that I needed." Trivette answered as he checked on Victoria LaRue. " She's dead."

Angela came running back into the lobby " Daddy did you get that bad lady?" Walker handed Ray over to Trivette and picking his daughter up he answered her " No honey your Uncle Jimmy got her. She's never going to bother us again." Sydney took Ray from Trivette and Angela hopped into his arms and said " Thanks Uncle Jimmy." Kissing his god daughter on her cheek Trivette answered " You're welcome sweetheart."

Several hours later after the paper work was done Walker was preparing to leave his office with the children when Moody entered it and said to him " Captain Walker I don't think that autopsy will be needed now." Smiling Walker said to Moody " I'm taking my children to the reservation. When we get back I want to discuss my wife's resignation with you." Puzzled by Walker's last remark D.A. Moody just looked at him when he left the office with Trivette and the children. Without speaking to each other Trivette and Walker loaded the children into the truck then got in themselves and went to the reservation.

Chapter Five

It was late at night when they arrived at the reservation. Trivette helped Walker with carrying the children into the house and putting them into bed. [The house had been Walker's Uncle Ray's house and was now his.] As they were leaving the children's bedroom Alex asked her husband " Walker what are you doing here?"

" Everything's okay Alex. Come on let's go downstairs and make some coffee and I'll tell you what happened." Walker said to Alex and they went back downstairs. Trivette said to Walker " I need to call Erica. Is it okay to tell her that you're not a widower anymore?"

" Yes that's fine Trivette but not anyone else just yet. I don't want anyone knowing that Alex is alive until we're ready to deal with them." Walker answered his friend as someone knocked on the door. Walker opened it to find Sam Coyote standing there. After he came in he said to Walker " It's good to see you Washoo. I just came over here to see if Trivette needed a place to sleep." Finishing his phone call Trivette answered him " Yeah I need a place to sleep. Alex and Walker need to talk." Trivette then left with Sam. After handing her husband a cup of coffee Alex waited for Walker to bring it up and he did by saying to her " It was LaRue's twin sister."

" Twin sister, did you get her?" Alex questioned him. " No. Trivette did. It was Victoria LaRue. God Alex she managed to get to our children. She was dragging Angela by the arm and carrying Ray. When we confronted her in the lobby LaRue let Angela go but put a gun to Ray's head. I couldn't find an opening to take her out. Sydney and Gage took Angela out of the lobby for me. As she shifted Ray from one arm to another her hand got close to his mouth and he bit her causing her to drop him. I grabbed him as Trivette fired a shot at LaRue, when she raised her gun at us Trivette shot and killed her. Alex I am so sorry that I failed to protect our children." Walker said with a voice full of raw emotion.

Going to him and sitting on his lap Alex attempted to reassure her husband " Darling just thank God that Ray has teeth and likes to bite. Our children are still here and that is what matters. They can have no better father than you."

" I'm a real good father. Aren't I? I couldn't protect them from a madwoman who had all ready shot at them outside the Hope Center." Walker answered his wife as he hung his head in shame. Pulling his head back up so that she could look in his eyes Alex said to him " Cowboy if anyone is to blame, it's me. I'm the guilty one here. I'm the one who brought Victor LaRue into our lives in the first place."

" Alex you were just in the wrong pace at the wrong time. You have nothing to feel guilty about. You aren't responsible for the actions of a lunatic." Walker answered her and she said " Exactly."

Walker then said as he helped her to her feet and got up himself " Did anyone ever tell you that you're a terrific lawyer?"

" A certain cowboy that I happen to love." Alex answered as they headed upstairs. Walker told her " Alex about your resignation we need to talk about it." Putting her fingers on his mouth Alex said " We will, just not tonight. Tonight I want to spend some time with my handsome husband."

" But what about your injury?" he asked her as they looked in on the children. As they went into their bedroom Alex kissed her husband on the cheek and answered him " Well I guess that I can play ride-the-cowboy one handed." Blushing slightly Walker said " Alex!" Then realizing that it was a good idea he quickly stripped her, then just as quickly undressed himself. Laying on his back on the bed Walker teased her " Your ride awaits my lady." Getting onto the bed among other things Alex said " You've got it cowboy." Then Alex played ride-the-cowboy for awhile and then drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Angela woke up screaming " Daddy, Daddy stop that bad lady. Daddy." Hurrying into the room Alex took her daughter in her arms and soothed her " There, there honey the bad lady is all gone."

" Mommy I missed you. Are you sure that bad lady is all gone?" Angela asked her mother who answered " Yes I'm sure sweetheart. I want you to know how proud I am of you for yelling so that people would know to stop that lady from taking you and your brother."

" Is Daddy proud of me too? I think that he's mad at me for letting that bad lady get Ray." Angela asked her mother as she started to cry.

Walker entered the bedroom and took Angela from her mother and said to his daughter as he wiped away her tears " Honey, Daddy is very proud of you. Daddy is not mad at you. Like Mommy just told you, you were a very brave little girl to cry out for help and try to get away from the bad lady. Honey you didn't let her take your brother. You helped save him." Looking at her father Angela asked Walker " I'm still Daddy's little girl?"

Kissing her on the cheek he answered " For the rest of my life. Now how about we go and made some breakfast? Mommy can't with her boo-boo."

As the family was eating breakfast Angela asked her mother " Mommy when are you coming back home? We miss you. Ray was crying for you." Smiling Alex answered her " I'm going home with my family tomorrow."

Later when the children were playing Alex and Walker were sitting on the couch discussing her resignation from the D.A.'s office " Alex you don't need to quit your job. I'm sure that Moody would gladly take you back. You can just tear up your letter of resignation. We'll find a way to make more time for the children and each other."

Walker told her and she asked him " Walker can we please talk about this after we're back home? There are several other things that we need to talk about also."

" Okay. Now how do we bring you back from the dead?" Walker asked. " My friend Shelley who owns a T.V. station; We'll give her the exclusive interview, how does that sound?" Alex said and Walker replied " Great as long as you're the one getting interviewed. I hate those things."

" You've got a deal." Alex replied and then remembering her father asked " Wait a minute, what did you tell my father?" Walker answered " He's in the hospital with a minor heart attack and his wife hasn't told him anything yet."

" He will be okay, won't he?" Alex questioned. Walker assured his wife that her father would be okay and she then said " Okay. When we get back to Dallas I'll have to call him myself to make sure."

Walker called Shelley to set up the interview and arranged for it to take place at their house after they returned from the reservation. Trivette came by later in the day and told them that he was going back to Washington D.C. They reminded him not to let anyone know about Alex just yet because they didn't want to hounded by the media. That they wanted to spend some time as a family first. Giving Alex one last hug Trivette left.

Chapter Six

Shelley and her camera man arrived at the Walker residence and she asked Walker " Will I be interviewing you?"

" No. Not me. You'll be interviewing my beautiful bride." Walker answered her. Stunned Shelley blurted out " But Alex's body isn't even cold yet."

" I know that but I met the most beautiful woman and I just couldn't help myself. Shelley just set everything up, it will all become clear in a few minutes. I have to check on Angela and Ray." Walker told her and then left the room. Shelley muttered aloud " I can't believe that man, getting a new wife already. Letting a pretty woman turn his head when Alex's body isn't even cold yet. Alex must be turning over in her grave." Alex who had quietly entered the room said " Not exactly."

" Alex thank god you're alive. Girl you have some explaining to do." Shelley said as she hugged Alex. Hugging her back Alex said " That's what the interview is for, to explain things."

Shelley started the interview by saying " We are at the home of Captain Cordell Walker of the Texas Rangers. As many of you know his wife A.D.A. Cahill-Walker was recently shot by Victoria LaRue who was shot and killed by Ranger Trivette when she attempted to abduct the Walker children. We are here to interview someone who will shed new light on the shooting." The camera then panned back to show Alex who was sitting on the couch still very much alive. Alex smiled and said " As you can see I'm not dead. After my shooting my husband, Captain Walker arranged my 'death' He did this so that the person who had shot me would think that I was dead and not try to kill me again. So he informed the public that I had died from the shooting in order to draw out the shooter. I'm very lucky to still be alive, another inch over and I would have died for real. As it is I'm going to need therapy for the damage done to the muscles near the wound on my left side near my shoulder. This was the very hardest thing that I have ever had to go through, to be away from my family while there was a shooter on the loose. But thankfully they were able to stop her from shooting anyone else." Then Alex looked at Shelley who asked her " Do you have any regrets about letting your friends and colleagues think that you were dead?"

" A few but if I had to do it over again I would do the exact same thing again. To put my trust and my life in the hands of Captain Walker. I didn't know who was trying to kill me or why. I only knew that I couldn't take the chance of the shooter trying to shoot me again and hurting someone else. I won't put my family in danger like that. As for my friends and colleagues. I am sorry for what they went through but my family comes first." Alex answered Shelley who then asked her " Now that this is over, will you be returning to the D.A.'s office?"

" My husband and I will be discussing that later." Alex answered and the interview wrapped up. As they were leaving Shelley asked Walker " So can you give me some inside information on whether or not your wife returns to her job as D.A.?"

" Believe me Shelley, right now you know as much as I do." Walker answered her and when Shelley looked like she didn't believe him Alex said " That's true." Shelley and her camera man left.

Hugging Alex, Walker said " We can talk about your resignation after the children are in bed. Okay?"

" Yes we can darling. Walker I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about resigning before I did it. I will explain everything to you later. I promise." Alex answered him. Sydney and Gage stopped by later and Alex thanked Gage for keeping her being alive a secret and she thanked Sydney for her shielding of Angela. They both said that they were glad that Alex was still alive and they left.

Later on that evening after the children were in bed Walker joined Alex in the living room and said to her " Okay Alex you owe me an explanation of why you would quit your job without even telling me about it first."

" I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about my plans to resign ahead of time. I know that I should have but I was so busy with this last case." Alex was explaining to Walker when he interrupted her to say " Alex I know how busy you have been lately but you've always found the time to tell me things that I should know. Things that as your husband I have the right to know. This time should have been no different."

" You're right. All I can say is that first of all I wrote my letter of resignation on the day that I submitted it. I was planning on telling you about it when we rode home in your truck together but that never happened." Walker again interrupted her " You should have discussed it with me before you submitted the letter of resignation, not after turned it in."

" I know that now. Walker please let me explain. Like I said I wrote the letter on the day that I submitted it. That night after you fell asleep after our lovemaking I laid there in your arms thinking about all of the changes that we had gone through recently." Alex said as she laid her head on his chest. Walker said to her as he caressed her hair " Alex I know that we went through a lot recently even for us but what do the changes have to do with you quitting your job?"

" I may have over reacted by quitting my job but it was taking so much time away from my being with my family. Walker more than anything I want to be able to spend time with you and our children. The first thing that I want to do is to restore our ranch house." Alex said to her husband who replied " Alex I'll be okay if we keep on living here. You're the type of lady that should live in a place like this. A beautiful house for a very beautiful lady."

" The Alex Cahill you met all of those years ago maybe. Not Alex Cahill-Walker. Walker the ranch was as much my home as it was your's. That's where I fell in love with my cowboy. You belong there not here. After all you are still very much my cowboy and you can't be one living here." Alex answered him.

Walker said " Alex I can live here." Placing her fingers on his lips she said " I can't and I won't okay?"

" Okay, but what about the D.A.'s office? The woman that I fell in love is the best prosecutor that I have ever met." Walker asked his wife who said to him " I want to spend some time with my family. After the ranch is rebuilt I'll think about it. As it is I'm going to need some time off to rehab. I was thinking the rest of the year. How does that sound to you?"

" I can't say that I'll mind you being home more and you're right about the ranch. I fell in love with you there too. Not to change the subject but you will talk to Moody tomorrow about your plans?" Walker asked.

" Yes dear I'll go see Moody right after I've seen the doctor. Now can we call it a night?" Alex questioned her husband as she wrapped her good arm around his waist. He teasingly asked as they headed upstairs " Can I play ride-em-cowboy tonight?"

Alex teased back " Don't we have to be at the ranch for you to be a cowboy?" As they entered their bedroom Walker said " Very funny lady. You know what I meant Mrs. Walker." Just then Ray began crying and Alex went to him. After she returned to the bedroom a naked Walker was pulling his wife to him when Angela began crying. Putting his pants on Walker said " I'll get her but don't forget our plans."

" Honey maybe we ought to put them on hold for tonight, okay?" Alex said to Walker who looked at their bed with longing but instead answered his wife " Okay, tomorrow then." Alex said " You've got it, tomorrow." Walker left the room to take care of Angela.

Chapter Seven

The next day Alex had several appointments which she kept. First with the doctor then she met with D.A. Moody. After they were over Alex went and picked up her children from the Hope Center, as she was leaving Alex said to Josie who ran the place. " Thanks for watching the children for me. I'm sorry for letting you think that I was dead but I felt that Walker's plan was the best chance we had at catching my shooter without anyone else getting hurt."

" Alex believe it or not I'm really glad that you're okay. It just going to take me some time to get over the shock." Josie answered her. Alex then drove to the ranch were she met with the contractors to get them started on rebuilding the front of it the house which had suffered the most fire damage. Then she took the children into the barn to play while she sorted through the things that Walker and she had managed to save from the fire. Alex was almost done with the sorting when she came across a box of mementoes of Walker's and Ellen's relationship. [The two of them had just gotten engaged when they were gunned down. Walker survived but Ellen didn't.] As Alex was putting it aside Walker entered the barn and said to her " I'll take that." Without a word she handed it over as Angela ran up to her father and said to him " Daddy, Mommy said that I could tell you about baby Ray." Picking his daughter up Walker asked her " Tell me what about baby Ray?"

" He's walking Daddy." Angela answered her father who smiled and said " That's because his big sister has been showing him how to walk."

" Yes Daddy. I showed him how to walk and after his nap I'll show him how to run." Angela stated and then went to the fence to watch the horses. Turning to his wife Walker asked her " How did your meetings go?"

" Pretty good. Moody agrees that I can return to work after the holidays and with a lighter schedule. As for the doctor, he said that the damage wasn't as bad as he had first thought. That if I wanted to I could return to work in a couple of weeks." Alex answered her husband.

" But I thought that you weren't going back to work until next year, right?" Walker asked Alex who said to him " Yes. I won't be going back to work until next year because I intend to get the ranch house rebuilt as quickly as possible. Okay?"

" Fine by me. Now do you have anything good to eat in that picnic basket?" Walker teasingly asked. Teasing right back Alex said " I'll only tell you if you give me a kiss for all the hard work I put into making it." Walker kissed her and promised a lot more of the same after their children were sleeping later. They then spend the rest of the afternoon with their children. As they were getting ready to leave Alex noticed that Walker had the box of mementoes in his hand which he carefully placed in his truck. Walker then helped Alex put Angela and Ray into her car. Alex didn't say anything about the box because there was still a part of her that felt insecure when her husband was thinking about Ellen. At these times Alex felt as though Walker would never love her the way that he had loved Ellen. That Ellen had been the love of his life, not her. It had taken Alex some time to realize that what mattered was that Walker was the love of her life and that he did indeed love her. At least that was what Alex had told him on one memorable evening because it had led to them making love most of the night. Walker kissed Alex on the cheek and then got into his truck and without a word to her drove away.

When Walker came home Alex had already put the children to bed. So when he entered his bedroom he asked her " Why didn't you wait until after I was home to put them to bed? You know that I wanted to read Angela a story."

" They were getting tired and I didn't know what time you would be home. Walker after we put the children into my car you didn't say a word to me. You just got in your truck and left." Alex defended herself.

" I had something that I needed to do but next time how about waiting just a little bit longer before you put them to bed. Okay?" Walker asked his wife who answered " Okay. " Alex then went to her dresser and got her night clothes as Walker went into the bathroom and took a shower. When Walker came out of the bathroom he was surprised to find Alex already in bed with the covers pulled up to her neck. Pulling the covers down Walker was also surprised to find out that she was wearing pajamas instead of the sexy nightgown he had expected to find his wife wearing because he thought they had plans. Getting concerned Walker got into bed and felt her forehead to see if Alex wasn't feeling good and questioned her " What's the matter Alex? Are you coming down with something?"

Puzzled she asked " What do you mean by that?" Sighing he answered " I thought that we had agreed that we would make love tonight."

Somewhat uncertain Alex replied " Well I thought that since you left the ranch with your box of mementoes of Ellen that you wouldn't be interested in being with me tonight. Walker in the past when you've been thinking about her it's like I no longer exist to you. Like you forget all about me. I thought that you would feel the same way tonight. I know how much you still care for her."

Realizing that his wife had some uncertainties about his love for her and his love for Ellen Walker said to Alex as he pulled her close " No Alex even when I've been thinking about Ellen I have never forgotten about you. As for still caring about Ellen, not anymore. Alex she's my past, you are my present and my future. When I took that box out of your hand earlier I realized something. That if Ellen and I had gotten married while I would have been happy I would never had known what it was like to be married to the love of my life; you. What Ellen and I had was kind and sweet. What you and I have is at times so incredible and yet at times so challenging. Sweet is not a word that I would use to describe you. A burning fire is what I think of when I think of you and I do that a lot. I also realized tonight that I needed a lady who would stand up to me and not back down. Alex while our relationship hasn't been easy at times it is the most important one that I have ever had. You are the love of my live. Don't doubt that even if I don't tell you that often enough."

Wiping her tears away because Walker had never been so open about his feelings with her Alex said to her husband as she snuggled closer to him " Cordell Walker for being as romantic as a rock sometimes when you tell me how you feel about me you are incredibly romantic."

Slightly blushing Walker asked " Does that mean I get to make love with you?" Getting up from the bed and then removing her clothes Alex asked " What do you think cowboy?" Getting up from bed himself Walker pulled her close and said " I'll take that as a yes." Then they made love and as they lay wrapped in each other's arms Alex said " I love you Cordell." Walker answered back " Me too Alexandra."


End file.
